BIXBY, Okla. -- A judge decided Monday that the case involving four former Bixby High School football players accused of raping a teammate will be moved to juvenile court.
The decision was announced Monday afternoon after last week, defense attorneys argued that the case should be moved to the juvenile court system.
Court documents said that testimony at a preliminary hearing showed that the victim suffered no lasting physical injury as a result of the incident.
The Rogers County District Attorney's Office sent the following statement about the judge's ruling:
“We’re aware of the Judge’s decision, but haven’t had a chance to review the order.”
All four teenagers, Colten Cable, Joe Wood, Will Thomas and Samuel Lakin, have gone through multiple psychological evaluations and a youthful offender study through the Office of Juvenile Affairs.
The defense claimed all four teens evaluations showed they were at low risk to re-offend, which qualifies them for juvenile court.
Prosecutors had said this incident was far from "horseplay" and this behavior was aggressive and premeditated.
The teens are accused of rape by instrumentation. The alleged victim said that the four teens raped him with a pool stick at the former school superintendent's home.
All four teens were offered a plea deal in January, but turned it down.
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